London home prices are falling down, falling down.
Average house prices in the capital city are declining by their fastest rate since the bottom of the recession nearly a decade ago, Bloomberg News reported.
Home prices fell to $820,000 in January, according to a report published Monday by Acadata. The 2.6 percent drop year-over-year was the steepest decline since August 2009.
The luxury market is feeling the hardest hit, partly due to tax changes.
Loan limits in Singapore and tax hikes on landlords are also impacting demand from overseas, and the market is feeling the weight of slower economic growth and faster inflation following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
“Uncertainty over Brexit is the issue,” said James Gubbins, a partner at Dauntons. The financial sector in London is expected to take the biggest hit.
London competes with New York for wealthy apartment buyers, and the Brexit vote in 2016 had some brokers cheering because it could shift demand to Manhattan, as The Real Deal reported. [Bloomberg] – Rich Bockmann